1. BANKING & INVESTMENT
I
n August 2013, financial services
specialist Marie-Christine Lambin
launched the MC Bolero Global
Allocation fund with the aim of offering a
solution to investors willing to move away
from traditional portfolio management
and its predetermined asset allocation grids
based on risk profile. The need to choose a
risk category has sometimes been a source
of frustration to investors willing to increase
risk in a supportive environment, and to
be a little more cautious in less favourable
market conditions. Being convinced that
macroeconomic trends are the main drivers
of market returns and that different asset
classes are needed in different phases of
the economic cycle, Ms Lambin manages
the fund with a flexible and opportunistic
approach, seeking an optimal asset allocation
between the main asset classes (equities,
bonds, real estate, gold).
The philosophy of the fund is based on
the widely accepted concept that 70 to 80%
of a portfolio performance is driven by the
asset allocation and to a lesser degree by
stock selection. As such, the fund seeks to
minimise specific risks related to a company
through a highly diversified portfolio invested
predominantly in exchange traded funds
(ETFs) and UCITS funds. Individual stocks
resulting from high conviction ideas can be
added as satellites to the strategic allocation.
The fund is actively managed according to
the manager’s view on the global economic
environment, corporate earnings expectations
and asset class valuations. Exposure to
different asset classes can vary within the
following limits: Equities 0-70%, Money
Market Instruments 0-100%, maximum
10% in Alternative Strategies. The sub-fund
may temporarily invest up to 100% of its net
assets in cash when the financial markets are
experiencing excessive volatility or when the
global economy is facing adverse conditions.
The fund aims to deliver an attractive return
over a 3 to 5 year period with a moderate level
of risk (target volatility between 5 and 9%).
52 l www.the-european.eu
Underpinning one of Luxembourg’s most attractive funds is a
philosophy that embraces a flexible and dynamic approach to
patrimonial investing. We meet its award-winning manager
Discover the MC Bolero
Global Allocation Fund
More than 75% of UCITS funds
distributed internationally are
based in Luxembourg

2. The objective of the fund is to be a core
holding for all investors. The manager’s
motto: “Your interest is mine”.
30 years of dedication
to portfolio management
Having graduated from the University
of Louvain-La-Neuve (Belgium) Ms
Lambin has acquired large experience in
portfolio management in Luxembourg and
Switzerland. Prior to joining NOVACAP
Asset Management in August 2013 to launch
and manage her own fund, MC Bolero Global
Allocation Fund, she worked for six years
with an independent Family Office in Geneva
as Chief investment Strategist and manager
of dedicated equity and balanced funds. She
started her career as investment advisor with
Banque Paribas Luxembourg in 1986 and has
since played a major role in the development
of discretionary portfolio management with
major international banks, such as ING, BGL
and Safra group.
Ms Lambin was recently awarded
Investment Manager of the Year by the
Luxembourg Management Awards, edition
2015. The Luxembourg Finance Management
Awards aim to reward the financial sector’s
best practices and projects as well as to
acknowledge outstanding professionals
for their skills and involvement within
their company. The main criteria taken
into account are: experience, reputation,
methods, techniques, innovation and ethics
as well as the projects, products or services’
added value. Willing to associate the fund
with social projects targeting a better life
for deprived children around the world, the
manager is currently dedicating a portion of
the fund performance fees to an orphanage in
Nepal (www.jayandra.org).
A highly regulated vehicle
NHS SICAV – MC Bolero global allocation
fund is a UCITS fund incorporated under
the law of Luxembourg. The majority of
funds domiciled in Luxembourg are created
as UCITS, which allow marketing their
units/shares freely in all member states of
the European Union. The UCITS brand
is recognised as the only truly globally
distributed investment fund product being
the best in class when it comes to investor
protection. The base currency of the fund is
the US dollar. The euro class is systematically
hedged against the dollar class with the aim
of ensuring the same level of performance
although the hedge may not always be perfect.
BANKING & INVESTMENT
GLOBAL BUSINESS AWARDS
www.the-european.eu l 53
signal for the global economy. The latest
measures announced by the European
Central Bank, the Bank of Japan and the
Bank of China underscore the increasing
diversity of tools central bankers are willing
to deploy to stimulate economic growth.
Ms Lambin also believes that the reduced
number of US rate hikes expected this
year will help support risky assets. Global
growth trends, albeit modest, are so far
still favourable enough to allow companies
generate decent profit growth. In this context
Ms Lambin has recently increased the equity
exposure of the portfolio to 58% from 30% at
the end of February.
Eurozone equities remain the preferred
choice in terms of region as interest rates
there look set to remain low for long. Lower
refinancing costs should result in rising
corporate profitability, valuations remain
at reasonable levels. Japan equities have
recently been cut to Underweight from
Overweight given little signs of economic
improvement while increasing outflows
underline growing market doubts about
“Abenomics”. US equities look vulnerable
to a deterioration in corporate margins.
Challenges, however, remain high and risks
are tilted to the downside.
It remains to be seen whether the large
liquidity injections by central banks will be
effective in reviving the eurozone economic
activity. The outlook for China’s economy
remains clouded by lingering overcapacity,
rising debt. The country’s transition to a
new model driven by consumption rather
than investment is likely to weigh on
growth for some time to come. A further
devaluation of the yuan would likely trigger
a global currency war and result in margin
pressures for Western companies with a
big exposure to the Chinese market. The
slowdown of China and yuan volatility
could create further downside risk to the
global inflation backdrop. June could see
a resurgence in risk aversion with the
Brexit referendum, and new headlines
about Greece. Market volatility will likely
remain elevated around macro data and
central banks’ decisions. The fund manager
remains flexible enough to adapt its strategy
to changing market conditions.
Further information
For more information about Marie-
Christine Lambin’s positioning and
strategy, see: blog.novacap-am.com/
author/marie-christine
Flexibility: a key component of
portfolio management
In 2015 investors had to weigh up central
bank actions, digest sluggish global economic
trends and flat to modest earnings growth.
The first two months of 2016 encapsulated
all these worries. Conflicting messages from
macroeconomic surveys and central bank
speeches sparked exceptional volatility in the
markets, with violent reversals difficult for
asset allocators to capture.
At the time of writing, equity markets have
recovered part of the losses recorded during
the months of January and February, boosted
by a rebound in oil prices and expectations
that the latest central bank measures will
help revive economic activity. A global loss
of momentum at the start of the year had
sparked fears of a world recession, making
safe haven government bonds the best
performing asset class so far this year. With
the latest economic surveys pointing to a
stabilisation in the US manufacturing sector,
further strength in the labour and housing
markets and some evidence of inflationary
pressures, Ms Lambin is becoming more
confident that the US economy will avoid
a recession in the short-term, an important
Marie-Christine Lambin was awarded the
Investment Manager of the Year trophy
during the 2015 edition of the Luxembourg
Finance Management summit